A YEAR’S SUPPLY OF FOOD.
I have stolen the chapter on food storage from the book FOOD STORAGE AND PRESERVA-TION to include here as an introduction to storing food.
“My suggestion is that you need to store enough food, clothes, fuel and medical supplies for one year, at least. I know that this is not always possible as in some places it is illegal or there is just no room to store that amount. The largest problem that always arises is how I afford that much food. This is again a matter of preparation. questions.
This book is only going to address food storage and preservation with a few suggestions of other things to store. Here are some priority items to store and obtain:
You should store what you family will eat. There are a few exceptions to this rule but generally store what you eat. This will allow a rotational plan that will always keep your stores fresh.
Where possible you should store food that does not require refrigeration. We have expe-rienced some extended power outages in this county. If the temperature is in the 60 to 100 degree range frozen food in a freezer even if it is not opened will not last more than a few days.
You should have a generator to run your freeze and a few other appliances if possible. If you live in the city in an apartment this probably would not be possible. If you have a gener-ator you will also need fuel for it.
It is recommended that you store one year’s supply of wheat. This can be ground to flour and wheat has a long storage life. This will require that you have a wheat grinder. You should look for one that can be driven either by electricity and also cranked by hand. A gen-eral recommendation is that you have about 300 pounds of wheat for each member of your family.
Most of us are carnivores. We like meat. Fresh meat is a problem to store and the only way to store it is in a freezer. Wheat will provide you with enough protein in a pinch. Meat can be canned and stored. Canned tuna is a good storage item. I can’t tell you how much but if you have a family food budget that should give you a good indication of how much meat product you need to store. Another way to store meat is live animals such as chickens and rabbit. If you have the room this is an excellent way to get meat for your food storage. Don’t forget to store animal feed.
Vegetables are hard to store fresh. Most vegetables can well without a great loss of nu-trient in the process. Many vegetables can be dried for long term storage. My recommenda-tion is to have at least three serving a day of vegetable for every member of your family for one year. How do I afford that many vegetables? I suggest that you grow a garden if possible. Small raised beds can be integrated into any lawn or flower garden. We will cover raising vegetables in some depth later but here is a good book on vegetable gardening. Most of this book will be included: VEGETABLE GARDENING FOR FOOD PRODUCTION AND SELF SUFFI-CIENCY.
Feed for your animals and pets. Many pets can be feed table scraps and kept alive and well. You should plan for food for you animals and pets as well as for yourself.
Do you need to store fuel to heat your house if the power goes out for an extended pe-riod in the winter? The answer to this is yes. How do I do this? This is a question that will require you to search for the best answer to meet your needs. Believe it or not I am still struggling with this problem especially in the changing economic times.
In some areas air conditioning is necessary. This can be particularly trying for the elderly. Plan ahead to cool your home without the power grid.
Do you have a plan to obtain adequate water during an emergency? Water storage is a must. For a long term water supply you might need to use your own ingenuity.
It is necessary to store first aid supplies to meet your needs. Those with special medical conditions should store those items require to meet these needs.
If you live in the Amazon jungle storing clothing might not be necessary but for the rest of us it is. Store those clothes that you will wear. As time goes on make sure that the sizes are correct. Be sure to store work clothes as they will meet many situations especially those that arise from disaster and loss of a job.
The greatest thing that can be done to protect your family during times of stress is to be debt free. You should not owe any money except for your home and your land. These should be paid off as soon as possible. Take it from one that has had to deal with debt that debt free is the best answer.
One thing that many folks don’t have is garden seeds, Store garden seeds. You can now buy viable non-hybrid open pollinated seeds in a sealed can. They should be good for at least 5 years if kept at a moderate temperature.
The question now arises, how much should I store? You ought to store enough to meet your family’s needs for a year. This is not an easy question to answer but I will try to provide some guide lines.
These are the basic items and you should expand them from this point. Please see the resource page for additional resources.
You will notice that the table did not list any meats. This does not mean that meat is not nice. It is great, however, there are only three ways to store meat and all of them are not easy. 1) You can store meat as live animals and butcher them as you need the meat. 2) It can be stored in a freezer and I know one family that has four freezes full of food and two back-up generators to keep them going in a crisis. 3) Meat may be canned. Canning meat requires that you follow all the precautions to ensure that it does not spoil in the container as spoiled meat can go unnoticed and kill you even if it is cooked after it is opened. It is your responsibility to determine if and how you will store meat for your family.
Store garden seeds, Just Do It!
